9 Ways to Save Money on Your Cell Phone Bill

When's the last time you took a good, hard look at your mobile phone bill? Kind of shocking, isn't it? Most people are now paying more for their cell phone than for a tricked-out land line. And for what? Some games you never play and a ringtone from "In Da Club"? Here's how to attack your cell phone bill and cut it down to size.

1. Right-size your minutes. If you have a substantial number of minutes leftover every month, cut back as much as possible. Most plans let you carry over minutes from a prior month, so don't worry if you're a few minutes over once in awhile, provided you have a few dozen minutes in reserve. (Just be careful not to use them all up: Overage is crazy expensive.)
   
2. Check for services you don't use. Cingular signed me up for a $3 a month emergency roadside assistance plan which I never asked for. One call got the service removed.
3. Get rid of old games and ringtones. Though less common now than a few years ago, some of this stuff still comes with recurring billing, which can really add up. Third-party providers are the worst of the bunch, often using misleading tactics to trick you into subscribing for useless services. That dumb fishing game isn't worth $60 a year. Rather than spend $2.50 on a ringtone, make your own out of the MP3 you already own, for free.
   
4. Take advantage of in-network and friends & family plans. Many carriers offer free calls to certain numbers or other phones on their wireless network. Ask your most frequent callees what carrier they're on and follow suit.
5. Consider pay-as-you-go. If you make only a few calls a month, smaller carriers like Virgin, Boost, and STI let you pay by the minute. Cingular, Verizon, and T-Mobile also offer prepaid plans if you ask, but be warned, smaller carriers often suffer from poor coverage and prepaid phones are usually very basic and unsexy (though T-Mobile offers a prepaid Sidekick).
   
6. Axe data services. Do you really need mobile email? Text messaging? High-speed web browsing? If you can't live without it, keep the services, but at $15 to $50 extra a month, you could be facing an extra $600 in expense each year for something you never use. The worst offenders: Entertainment packages, which let you watch TV clips and hear a few songs for a ridiculous $20 a month. Even if you have a music-capable phone you don't have to subscribe to the media plan. Just load it up with your own MP3s and listen to your music for free.
7. Stop it with all the texting. If you're paying by the message, that's about 15 cents for each "Hey what u doin????" Just call the person instead. And I hate to break it to you, but your votes for Jordin on American Idol just aren't going to matter.
8. Don't be afraid to dispute inaccurate charges. Watch your bill closely for third-party charges which you may not have authorized. The key is to identify where the charges are coming from, as soon as possible. (Two great stories can be found here.) Be forceful when you call. Cell phone companies will often cave if you demand satisfaction and threaten to leave for another carrier, and third-party companies can often be coerced into refunding several months of unauthorized billing.
9. Report lost or stolen cell phones immediately. Thieves can quickly run up multi-thousand dollar bills and, if you don't report the loss, you're liable for the damage. The web is littered with reports of people stuck with bills for 10 grand or more after innocently misplacing their phone.